Selling a dead or junk car in Piqua

What Piqua's Codes page asks of every vehicle

The city's list of property maintenance reminders sums up the vehicle rules in plain words. A car, trailer, boat or camper must be street legal, operable, carrying insurance and wearing current plates. Nothing may be parked or stored on grass or dirt. Wrecked cars, junk cars, race cars and cars in disrepair are not allowed. Property maintenance questions go to Code Compliance staff at 937-778-2813.

The code behind it: Chapter 91

Section 91.01 presumes a car is inoperative once it has gone 72 straight hours without being moved or driven. "Junked" covers a car that is unlicensed, carries an improper license, or is uninsured, unless a fully walled-in building hides it. It also covers any car that hits three of four marks: age three years or more, disabling damage such as a missing tire, wheel, transmission or motor, a value below $1,500, and an apparently inoperative look.

Section 91.02 then sets the limit. No junked, abandoned, inoperative or dismantled car may stay on public or private property in Piqua for 48 hours or longer, whether or not anyone is with it. Three places are exempt: a bona fide repair shop, a junkyard or scrap processor operating under state law, and a lot covered by a special use permit. A collector's car is exempt too, if it is fully enclosed in a structure with the property owner's say-so.

An officer can also ask for proof of insurance and a demonstration that the car runs on its own power (Section 91.10). Failing either one is treated as proof.

From notice to tow

Section 91.03 lays out the steps:

1. The notice is served like a civil summons, with a copy fixed to the car when practical, or printed once in a daily paper if no one can be found.
2. You get 72 hours from service. To contest it, put a hearing request in writing before those Piqua hours run out.
3. The notice warns that the car will be removed seven days later, impounded and disposed of.

Moving the car out of Piqua, or enclosing it in a fitting structure, avoids fines and costs. Shifting it onto the street does not. If the city removes it, Piqua can bill the registered owner and whoever controls the lot, together or separately, for removal, storage and disposal.

Snow emergencies

When snow piles up on Piqua's streets, the City Manager has discretion to call an emergency. While it lasts, parking is banned on the listed streets: all U.S. and state routes, the other arterial and collector streets, and the streets of the Downtown Business District. Police can order a car there removed, and Section 76.14 puts the removal and storage costs on its owner or driver.

Titling from Piqua

Piqua titles go through a county Clerk of Courts, and the state's office list shows none inside Piqua. Miami County's is down in Troy, Suite 5 of 1506 One Stop Ct., about 8.5 miles south as the crow flies; call (937) 332-6812. Shelby County's office in Sidney, 1000 Milligan Court, Suite 101, is about 11.9 miles northeast. Clark County's in New Carlisle is about 18.2 miles southeast.

Selling from Piqua, you fill in the seller's lines on that title and sign while a notary looks on. As for plates, they belong to you, not the buyer. Once the car is sold its registration is over, and Ohio expects you to pull them off then.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or go online. Describe the car, give its mileage and where the title stands, and say if it starts. Tell us where it's parked, too, whether that's a garage, a driveway or a shop's back row. You sell the whole car as it sits. Nearby, see Troy, or Ohio for statewide rules.